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BackgroundAsthma is a common chronic respiratory disease leading to morbidity, mortality and impaired quality of life worldwide. Information on asthma prevalence in the Middle East is fragmented and relatively out-dated. The SNAPSHOT program was conducted to obtain updated information.MethodsSNAPSHOT is a cross-sectional epidemiological program carried out in five Middle Eastern countries (Egypt, Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, the latter three grouped into a Gulf cluster) to collect data on asthma, allergic rhinitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia and bipolar disorder. The survey was carried out by telephone in a random sample of the adult general population with quotas defined according to country demographics. The analysis presented in this paper focuses on asthma. Subjects were screened for asthma based on criteria from the global Asthma Insights and Reality studies. Current prevalence (last 12 months) was estimated. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to investigate risk factors related to asthma and the association with allergic rhinitis and other co-morbidities. Quality of life was assessed using the three-level EQ-5D questionnaire.Results2124 out of the 33,486 subjects enrolled in the SNAPSHOT program fulfilled the criteria for asthma. The adjusted prevalence of asthma ranged from 4.4% [95% CI: 4.0–4.8%] in Turkey, to 6.7% [95% CI: 6.2–7.2%] in Egypt and 7.6% [95% CI: 7.1–8.0%] in the Gulf cluster. Prevalence was higher (p < 0.0001) in women than men and increased with age (p < 0.0001). Co-morbidities occurred more frequently in asthma subjects compared to the non-asthma population (38% vs. 15% p < 0.0001). Subjects with asthma reported a lower (p < 0.0001) EQ-VAS score (68.2 ± 22.9) compared to the general population (78.1 ± 17.5). The risk factors associated with asthma were age, gender, country, and certain co-morbidities, namely respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, nervous, and neurological diseases.ConclusionThe observed adjusted prevalence of asthma in the Middle East ranges from 4.4% to 7.6%, which is comparatively lower than the reported prevalence in Europe and North America. Asthma has a negative impact on quality of life, and is associated with high levels of co-morbid diseases, indicating a need for physicians to check for co-morbidities and ensure they are managed correctly in all asthma patients.

Treatment with the combination of tamsulosin only and sildenafil citrate only was not superior to tamsulosin only to enhance voiding symptoms. Also, sexual function improvement was similar for both the combination and sildenafil citrate only treatments.

Background: Hypersensitivity to contrast media (CMs) may be common and serious. Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of CM hypersensitivity, risk factors associated with it and the role of skin testing in its diagnosis. Methods: A structured questionnaire was administered to patients who underwent computed tomography during a 1-year period. Skin tests with CMs, including skin prick tests (SPTs), intradermal tests (IDTs) and patch tests (PTs), were conducted on CM reactors (n = 24). Volunteers who tolerated CM exposure or had never been exposed to any CMs served as controls (n = 37). Results: A total of 1,131 patients (630 females and 501 males; mean age 55 ± 14.2 years) were enrolled in the study. The prevalence of historical and current CM reactors was 33/1,131 (2.92%) and 8/1,105 (0.72%), respectively. The skin was the most affected site, with mild to moderate reactions. Female gender, a history of doctor-diagnosed asthma, drug allergy, food allergy and psychiatric diseases were significant risk factors. The sensitivities of SPTs and early readings of IDTs in the diagnosis of immediate reactions were 0 and 20%, respectively, and the specificities were 94.6 and 91.4%, respectively. For early readings of IDTs, the positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were 40 and 80%, respectively. For nonimmediate reactions, the sensitivities of delayed readings of IDTs and PTs were 14.3 and 25%, respectively; specificity was 100% for both tests. The PPV was 100% for both of these tests, and the NPVs were 85.4 and 82.4%, respectively. Conclusions: Our findings are comparable with the incidence, profile and risk factors associated with CM hypersensitivity reported previously. Skin testing with CMs has a high specificity, but its role in diagnosis is limited due to low sensitivity.

Omalizumab provided a clinically important reduction in exacerbations and steroid requirement, and improved asthma symptoms and pulmonary function parameters in patients with asthma and ABPA who had previously shown an unsatisfactory response to Global Initiative for Asthma step 4 treatment.

Considering the high specificity, skin testing seems to be a useful method for the diagnosis of immediate-type hypersensitivity reactions to PPIs and for the evaluation of cross-reactivity among PPIs. However, OPT should be performed in case of negativity on skin tests.

Our results showed that in a Muslim population, the patients with asthma and COPD do not feel their diseases to be an inhibitory factor for fasting during Ramadan. However, fasting seems to be an important determining factor in medication compliance by modifying the drug use behaviours in each group in a different way. Therefore, the patients should be informed about the effects of fasting on their disease and the allowed drugs during fasting.

Background: Rapid drug desensitization (RDD) induces a temporary tolerance to biologics which induce hypersensitivity reactions (HSRs). Data are limited regarding the use of RDD outside the USA. Our purpose was to report our data on RDD to rituximab, infliximab, cetuximab, and trastuzumab. Methods: The study was conducted as a retrospective chart review of patients with symptoms of HSRs to biologics. HSRs were classified as grades I, II, and III, based on their severity. Skin-prick tests/intradermal tests (IDTs) were performed with the implicated biologics. The 12-step RDD protocol was used. Results: The study group comprised 11 women and 6 men (mean age: 47 ± 11.7 years). Fourteen patients experienced HSRs to rituximab; 3 had HSRs to cetuximab, infliximab, and trastuzumab, respectively. HSRs to cetuximab, infliximab, and trastuzumab occurred during the first infusion and were all grade III. Twelve of the 14 patients with rituximab hypersensitivity had a reaction during the first infusion; 10 patients had grade II reactions and 4 had grade III reactions. Respiratory symptoms were the most frequent presentation of HSR. Skin tests with rituximab were performed on 10 patients; only 3 resulted in positive IDTs (with 1:100 dilutions) and the other tests were negative as were those performed with the other biologics. Of 96 RDDs, 89 desensitizations were performed with rituximab, 5 with cetuximab, 1 with infliximab, and 1 with trastuzumab. There were 12 (13.5%) breakthrough reactions, all of which were associated with rituximab and were less severe than the initial reactions. Conclusion: RDD was found to be safe and effective in the largest case series of RDDs with biologics in our country, Turkey.